The best fantasy football running backs, No. 3: Adrian Peterson

This is likely higher than you’re going to find Peterson in most places, but I’ve come to learn a few tenets during my time in the fantasy world, and one of those is you do not doubt Peterson. He led the NFL in rushing at 30 years old, carrying the ball 327 times for 1,485 yards, while scoring 11 touchdowns. Peterson has missed more than two games in a year because of injury just once in his career, and famously returned from one of the most gruesome knee injuries in just eight months to rush for 2,097 yards. The typical aging curve just doesn’t seem to apply. It’s true that most running backs don’t belong anywhere near the first round, let alone the top three at their position, once they’ve hit 31 years old. Peterson is not most running backs. He’s the focal point of the Minnesota offense with no one in position to steal away many touches, save for a handful of Jerick McKinnon receptions. Like we talked about with Drew Brees in our early quarterback top 10, no one has won anything in a fantasy league by betting against Peterson. That’s unlikely to change this season.

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